Roxanne Garcia
About Roxanne
Accounting major Roxanne García already had a heavy schedule raising her 8-year-old daughter when she returned to school in 2014. In addition to a full course load, the Port Isabel native is a part-time tutor at Texas Southmost College and works part-time as a waitress at a restaurant on South Padre Island.
FIVE FAVES
- Food: Chicken Alfredo
- Movie: Pretty Woman
- Artist/Group: Aerosmith
- TSC Instructor: Maggie Solís
- Place @ TSC: SETB
Like many that have navigated the transition process back to school, García faced her share of adversity. In addition to more responsibilities and longer hours, she suffered the loss of her mother.
However, García never quit. Instead, she worked even harder and saw it as an opportunity to honor her mother by earning her associate degree. García will graduate in May 2016 with an associate degree in accounting.
“My mom was a single mom with six kids and I’ve worked since I was 12,” García said. “I started babysitting and at 16 I started working at Dairy Queen. I’m sort of a workaholic. Once I was economically stable, I was able to come back. My mom passed away and I’m doing this for her.”
García’s mother was a former TSC student and studied welding. Her mother never had the opportunity to finish her degree because she started a family.
“Last semester I was like, ‘how am I going to get through it?’” García said. “She (mom) worked three jobs and did whatever she could. After she passed away, we found a TSC yearbook she had kept. That’s part of the reason why I wanted to come to TSC, because she came here.”
After the younger García decided to return to school and enrolled at TSC, she chose to pursue accounting because it came naturally to her. She also fancies herself an entrepreneur.
“I’m in the middle of getting a property and opening my own business,” she explained. “I want to make sure everything is handled properly.”
Not afraid of hard work, García wasn’t shy about adding community service to her already busy schedule by volunteering for the VITA program at the TSC site that provides free tax service to local residents.
“VITA is a great learning experience and you get to help low-income families,” García said. “It’s a good service for them.”
While helping the community, she was able to acquire valuable tax preparation skills to supplement what she has learned in her accounting courses.
“It’s tough sometimes,” García said. “It’s stressful. This semester I don’t have a day off, ever. I just try to stay ahead of my classwork so that I don’t fall behind.”
After graduating in May, García plans to return to TSC to pursue an associate degree in business before transferring to a four-year institution to complete her bachelor’s degree.
What’s your dream?
“To finish my education so that I can pay for my daughter’s education when the time comes.”
What does TSC mean to you?
“You really have to push yourself and get the work done. My accounting instructor Ms. Solís has high standards and she really encourages people to want to further their education. I like that about TSC’s instructors.”
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